Month: May 2020

Bassist Jonathan Andersen of Denmark started with scraps and roots of songs that grew into his debut album “Tiny Grass is Dreaming.” A serious display of talent and heart, the album explores the width of the emotional spectrum with pieces that are sometimes frail, sometimes hearty; sometimes hopeless and sometimes starry-eyed. “Dry Air” is an... Continue Reading →

Bassist Ferdinando Romano’s debut as a front man in the new CD called “Totem” is proof he has the chops to create a variety of textures and flavors, coaxing the very best from his ensemble. “Mirrors” has the quality of a band tuning up/coming together, its independent melodic fragments sprinkled skillfully; “Evocation” gives Romano the... Continue Reading →

The new CD from Sophie Tassignon, “Mysteries Unfold,” has a potpourri of sounds dancing in many different corners of jazz: the cabaret-like “Don’t Be So Shy with Me” (a perfect lilt and bounce with a dash of cynicism), its echo-chambered voices in the bridge unexpectedly bringing a quick change of temperature and tempo. “Cum Dederit”... Continue Reading →

Two new works by guitarist Ratko Zjaca (interviewed earlier here) are almost too much of a treat at once. Not only is his instrumentation firmly in that perfect Goldilocks zone; his melodic lines are uncluttered, tempos tight but unobtrusive, and the phrasing flows like a river. Consider the sensibility of a meandering soul (“Here Nothing... Continue Reading →

Those airy swells, chill on-pointness and big band brilliance make guitarist/leader Dave Stryker’s new album “Blue Soul” an amazing contribution to jazzhood. The first track, “Trouble Man,” starts hot right out of the gate, swinging its way through the theme, veering off for some intense and bluesy solos by Stryker and then a stellar take-off... Continue Reading →